Devices for feeding helical coiled wire through a row of spaced openings in a looseleaf book



May 26,v I964 A..FREUNDL1CH ETAL 3,

DEVICES FOR. FEEDING HELICAL coILEn WIRE THROUGH A ROW OF SPACED' OPENINGS IN A LOOSELEAF BOOK Filed March 91 19623 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 V 4 93 /4 FIG. I

1 3 25 4/ 42 ,5 I7 13 IZ 3 INVENTORS.

ALBERT FPEU/VDL/C'H CARL W/LLE' BY $6 ATTOi/VEK y 25, 1954 A. FR NDLICH ETAL 3,134,406

FEEDING DEVICES FOR I COILED WIRE THROU A ROW 0F SPACED OPENING N A LOOSELEAF BOO Filed March 9, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 United States Patent DEVICES FOR FEEDING HELICAL C0113 WIRE THROUGH A RGW OF SPACED GPENTNGS 1N A LOOSELEAF BOOK Albert Freundlich, Bronx, and Carl Wille, New York, N.Y., assignors to Freundlich-Goinez Machinery Corp, College Point, N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed Mar. 9, 1962, Ser. No. 178,723 20 Claims. (Cl. 140-925) This invention relates to devices for feeding helical coiled Wire through a row of spaced openings in a looseleaf book. In Patent No. 2,961,012, issued November 22, 1960, there is shown one means for threading a helical wire binder through spaced openings of a looseleaf book. In the machine disclosed in that patent, a severed length of helically formed wire moves onto a fixed member, and a rotating roller is pushed against the wire to rotate the wire which engages a fixed edge, so that the wire is fed forwardly through openings in a looseleaf book as it is rotated. Such machines have had a fixed cylindrical member over which the helical wire passes. In such machines, in order to drive the wire faster, considerable pressure must be applied by the roller to the helical wire. When this is done, however, the Wire often becomes distorted as soon as the tip of the wire hits an obstruction inside of the punched holes of the looseleaf book.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to providean improved device so constructed that the wire is driven between two rotating members so as to permit the wire to be fed with very little pressure of the roller against the wire. With such construction, should an obstruction occur, the wire stops feeding while the roller continues to rotate, and hence the wire does not become distorted, permitting the operator to clear the obstruction, thereby allowing resumption of feed of the wire.

It is a further object of this invention to provide in a machine of the character described, a rotating bushing receiving the wire, with a rotating roller pushing the wire against the rotating bushing. With such construction, the roller may rotate without moving the lightly contacted wire, should the wire be obstructed, so as to permit the book to be reshaped by tapping; or if there is a plug in one of the punched holes caused by the punched paper remaining in the hole, such punched paper may be easily pushed out so as to free the wire for advancement.

Another object of this invention is to provide in a machine of the character described, a rotating bushing which is lubricated or which is made of anti-friction material.

Yet a further object of this invention is to provide in a. machine of the character described, a spring-pressed tongue which contacts the wire to prevent the Wire from jumping back, stop means being provided to prevent the tongue from scoring the bushing while permitting the tongue to be depressed should it be required to pull back the wire.

A further object of this invention is to provide in a machine of the character described, a roller provided with rib or ring means projecting beyond the outer surface of the roller, whereby said rib means may contact the bushing for rotating the same while other parts of the roller contact the wire to rotate the wire. Two spaced ribs or rings are preferably employed, and these are preferably spaced apart a distance which is not the same as a multiple pitch of the wire, so that if one of the ribs or rings 3,134,406 Patented May 25, 1964 "ice contacts a convolution of the wire, the other rib .or ring will pass through between adjacent convolutions to engage the bushing.

Yet a further object of this invention is to provide a strong, rugged and durable machine of the character described, which shall be relatively inexpensive to manufacture, smooth and positive in operation, and practical and efficient to a high degree in use.

Other objects of this invention will in part be obvious and in part hereinafter pointed out.

The invention accordingly consists in the features of construction, combinations of elements and arrangement of parts which will be exemplified in the construction hereinafter described, and of which the scope of invention will be indicated in the following claims.

In the accompanying drawings in which is shown an illustrative embodiment of the invention,

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view illustrating a machine embodying the invention;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the structure shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken on line 3-3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken on line 4-4 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a side elevational view illustrating the mechanism for rotating the roller and for moving the roller against the wire and the bushing;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken on line 6-6 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken on line 7-7 of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view taken on line 8-8 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view taken on line 9-9 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing a modified roller construction employed in a machine embodying the invention; and

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of another modified roller construction for such a machine.

Referring now in detail to the drawings, 19 designates a machine embodying the invention. The machine may be provided with any suitable support 11 on which is mounted a metal bar 12. At one end of the metal bar 12 is an upstanding finger 13. Also extending upwardly from the bar 12, rearwardly of the finger 13, are a pair of upweirdly-extending parallel apertured ears 14 supporting a transverse pivot pin 15. Bar 12 may be fixed to the support 11 by means of a screw 16 passing through an opening 17 in said bar. Said bar 12 may be formed with a countersink 18 through which extends upwardly a screw or stud 19. Screwed to the threaded upper end of the stud 19 is a nut Zii contacting the top of the bar 12.

The bar 12 is formed between said ears 14 and said finger 13 with a recessed opening 22 receiving the lower end of a small coil spring 23, the upper free end of which projects upwardly for the purpose hereinafter appearing. Fixed to the front end of the bar 12, as by stud 25, is a plate 26 formed at its upper end with a helical tongue or wall 27. Fixed to the upper end of the wall 27 is a rearwardly extending shaft or rod 28 from which ex-v tends rearwardly a reduced threaded stud portion 30 form ing therewith a shoulder 31. Slidably mounted on the shaft 28 is a bushing 32. The bushing may be made of 'prisestwo tape portions which are partible.

7 33 may have an axial through-opening 37.

Rotatably' mounted on the cross-pin is a lever 40 having a forwardly and upwardly extending tongue 41 contacted at its underside by the upper, free end of spring 23. Extending rearwardly from the pivoted portion of the leverv is an arm 42 contacting the upper end of the stud'19. The stud 1 is preferably so adjusted that the upper end of tongue 41 is somewhat spaced from the bushing 32 so as not toscore the bushing. A helical wire may be made and cut to suitable length by any suitable means, such for example, as shown in said Patent No. 2,961,012. Such wire is fed down over the tip 33 and over the bushing 32 into engagement with the helically shaped tongue 27. It will be noted that just below the helically shaped tongue 27 is a boss 27a against which bushing 32 may abut, such boss having an outer diameter substantially similar to the outer diameter of the bushing. It will be observed that if the helical wire, being pushed forwardly into contact with the helically shaped tongue 27, is rotated, said wire will have a tendency to be fed' forwardly in screw fashion. The plate 26 is notched as at 2712 to permit the wire to thread around from one side of the plate 26 to the opposite side thereof.

'The machine 10 may further comprise a bracket (FIG.'5) fixed to the floor and pivoted to which, as at 56, is a foot peda157. The foot pedal 57 is pivoted as at 58 to the lower end of link 60. Link 60 is pivoted as 7 M61 to the rearwardly extending arm of a lever 62.

Lever 62 is pivoted as on shaft 63 to any suitable support for the machine. Said lever 62 also has a forwardly and upwardly extending arm 66 carrying a rotary shaft 67. Rotatably mounted on the shaft 63 is a pulley 68, and

7 wire to advance.

be moved against the portion of the wire which passes over the bushing 32. The taped portions of the rollers will contact the wire and push it against the bushing. The grooves 77 are placed apart a distance different from the pitch of the wire, and the ring is placed in the groove which is not aligned with a convolution of the wire, so

as to project between adjacent convolutions of the wire and engage the bushing. If one groove is aligned with a convolution of the wire, the other will be disaligned with respect thereto, and that is the groove which is selected to receive the ring. Thus both the roller and the bushing rotate concurrently and the helical wire is rotated. with the bushing. The bushing lubricates the wire from the inside. The tongue'41 is spring-loaded and is held away from the bushing a few thousandths of an inch by adjustment of the screw or stud 19 so as not to 'score the bushing. The bushing is removable and replaceable.

Since both the roller and. the bushing rotate, the wire may be contacted with very little pressure to cause the The wire as itadvances, moves through a groove in a helically shaped hook fixed to a support 91, and then passes through a row of spaced openings 92 in a looseleaf book 93. Book 93 is formed with A a row of equally spaced openings 92 through which the wire is threaded. as it advances in helical fashion. Since i the wire is only li htly contacted, should there he an obstruction in one of the holes, the wire will stop feed- 7 ing and will not be distorted, g'ivingthe operator 9. chance r'otatably mounted on shaft 67 is a pulley 69. The

pulleys 63 and 69 are interconnected by a belt 70. Any

7 suitable drive may be provided for the pulley 68 whereby to also rotate pulley 69.

Mounted on the shaft'67 for rotation therewith is a roller 71. Roller 71 comprises a roller member 72 made of rubber or rubberlike' material having a through opening 73 to receive the shaft 67. Said roller 71 may have a pair of opposite flat surfaces 74 interconnected by opposed circular surfaces 75/ The flat surfaces 74 may be formed with opposed pairs of parallel grooves 77 selectivelyreceiving aring 78 which may likewise be made of rubber or flexible synthetic plastic material, and which may be placed in either groove. This ring provides a rib for the purpose hereinafter appearing. The ring 78 may be located on either opposite side ofthe longitudinal.

mid-section of the roller.

About the opposite ends of the roller are placed strips of Velcro tape material 80. Velcro material is made by American Velcro, Inc., and is well known. It comportion formed with hooks. This is an inner portion of the tape, and it is permanently glued onto the member 72. Surrounding the hook portion isv a tape portion formed with a pile, which engages the hook portion. When the pile portion wears out, it can be removed and replaced. The ends of the pile portions of the tape may be attached together by pieces of tape 81 located at the hat sides of the roller. It will be noted that the ring One is a' to tap the book into proper shape or to clean out the hole so that the wire can again advance.

FIGS. 10 and 11 illustrate two modified constructionsof a roller. In FIG. 10, roller comprises a roller member 101 made of rubber or rubberlike material having a through opening 102 to receive shaft 67; Said roller 100 may have a pair'of opposed flat surfaces 103inter-" connected by opposed circular surfaces 104. The surfaces 103 and 104 may be formed with three parallel circuitous grooves, two grooves 105 being symmetrically opposed on V A opposite sides of the longitudinal mid-section of said roller, and one groove 106 being located near one end of' A ring 107 which may be made of rubber or' the roller. flexible synthetic plastic material may be selectively placedin either one of grooves 105, and another'si'milar ring 107a may be placed in groove 106. Ring 107 in one of grooves 105, projects through the coil wire and contacts the bushing, just as does ring 78 of! roller 71, and performs in the same manner. Ring 107a is so placed as to contact one side of the convolution of thecoil wire nearest to tongue 27, so as to insure complete feed of the coil off the bushing.

In FIG. 11, roller 108 is similar in all respects to roller Hi0 except that it has no grooves; The entire width of the outer surface is covered with a strip 109 of ,Velcro" tape material. One ring, which may be made of rubber or flexible synthetic plastic material, may be positioned to encircle said roller and tape near the center of saidroller, but in a locatoin where it will not-contact a convolution of the coil. This ring 110 can be adjusted lonthe roller, near one end thereof, or maybe located simie larly to ring 107:: on roller 100, to also engage one side of the convolution of coil '50 nearest the'tongue 27.. To hold the rings 110and 111 from moving after they" are properly located on the roller, strips of adhesive tape 112 are adhered across the roller, at the flats thereof."

The strips 112 may extend over; onto the ends of the roller, as shown in the drawing. l V i It will thus be seen that there is provided an apparatus in which the several objects of this invention are achieved and which is well adapted to meet the conditions of practical use. 7

As possible embodiments might be made of the above invention, and as various changes might bemade, in the V embodiment above set forth, it is to be understood that all matter herein set forth or shown in the accompanying drawings, is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

Instead of a rubber O-ring, any cord such as nylon or other ribbing may be employed, or the ribs may be integrally formed with the roller, in which case the ribs would have to be placed in position to pass through the coil to contact the bushing.

It will be further noted that an additional ring 78 may be placed on one of the Velcro strips 80 of the roller 71 in position to engage one side of the convolution of the coil wire nearest the tongue 27 in a manner similar to rings 107a and 111, so as to insure complete feed of the coil ofi the bushing. The ring 78 may be held in position by any suitable strips of tape at the flat sides of the roller similar to the strips 112 and indicated by numeral 78a in FIG. 6.

We claim:

1. In combination, a fixed shaft, a bushing rotatably mounted on the fixed shaft and adapted to receive a helical wire thereover, means fixed on the shaft projecting radially into the path of the helical wire to cause the helical wire to be fed helically as the wire is rotated, and a roller contacting the wire to press the wire against the bushing so as to rotate the wire upon rotating the roller.

2. The combination of claim 1, in combination with means on the roller adapted to extend between convolutions of the wire and engage the bushing, whereby the roller will also rotate the bushing.

3. The combination of claim 1, said bushing being made of anti-friction material.

4. The combination of claim 1, spring-pressed means to engage the wire on the bushing, and adjustable means to retain said spring-pressed means in spaced relation close to said bushing.

5. The combination of claim 1, said roller being provided with spaced, removable tapes adapted to contact said wire.

6. The combination of claim 5, and a pair of removable rings on said roller, one between and one on said spaced tapes, to engage the bushing.

7. The combination of claim 6, said roller having grooves to receive said rings.

8. The combination of claim 1, said roller being prm vided with removable tape adapted to contact said Wire.

9. The combination of claim 8, and a pair of rings on said tape, and adhesive strips to hold said rings against movement on said tape.

10. The combination of claim 1, said roller having grooves and rings selectively received in one of said grooves.

11. In combination, a fixed support, a plate fixed to the support, a helically shaped means fixed relative to the plate, a shaft fixed to said plate, a bushing rotatably mounted on the shaft, means on the shaft to prevent the bushing from sliding on the shaft, a roller, and means to support the roller for movement toward and away from the bushing.

12. The combination of claim 11, and a rib on said roller adapted to contact said bushing.

13. The combination of claim 11, said roller being formed with a groove and a ring encircling the roller and engaging the groove.

14. In combination, a fixed support, a plate fixed to the support, a helically shaped means fixed relative to said plate, a shaft extending from and fixed to said plate coaxial with said helically shaped means, a bushing on said shaft, a tip member screwed to the shaft and adapted to abut one end of said bushing, said tip member being convergingly tapered away from said bushing, said bushing being adapted to receive a helical Wire passed thereover, a roller, means to move the roller toward and away from said bushing, and means to rotate said roller, said roller being adapted to contact a helical coil wire on the bushing.

15. The combination of claim 14, and a ring on said roller adapted to pass through a pair of adjacent convolutions of said wire to contact the bushing while another portion of the roller contacts the wire and presses the wire against the bushing.

'16. The combination of claim 14, and a pair of spaced rings on said rolleradapted to contact the bushing while another portion of the roller contacts the wire to press the wire against the bushing.

17. Apparatus for feeding helically coiled wire comprising, a stationary shaft, a freely rotatable bushing journaled on said shaft for supporting said coil of wire for longitudinal movement on said bushing during rotation of the latter, stationary means for sliding engage ment with said wire between adjacent convolutions thereof so that as said wire rotates, it is caused to move longitudinally along said bushing, and rotary means for engaging at least a portion of said Wire and said bushing for simultaneously rotating said wire and bushing and thereby causing said wire to move longitudinally along said bushing.

18. Apparatus for feeding helically coiled wire comprising, a stationary shaft, a freely rotatable bushing journaled on said shaft for supporting said coil of wire for longitudinal movement on said bushing during rotation of the latter, said bushing being made of anti-friction material to provide a substantially frictionless outer surface on which said Wire is mounted for said longitudinal movement, helically shaped stationary means for sliding engagement with said wire between adjacent convolutions thereof so that as said wire rotates, it is caused to move longitudinally along said bushing, and rotary means for engaging at least a portion of said wire and said bushing for simultaneously rotating said wire and bushing and thereby causing said Wire to move longitudinally along said bushing.

19. Apparatus for feeding helically coiled wire comprising, a stationary shaft, a freely rotatable bushing journaled on said shaft for supporting said coil of wire for longitudinal movement on said bushing during rotation of the latter, said bushing being made of anti-friction material to provide a substantially frictionless outer surface on which said wire is mounted for said longitudinal movement, helically shaped stationary means for sliding engagement with said wire between adjacent convolutions thereof so that as said wire rotates, it is caused to move longitudinally along said bushing, and rotary means for engaging at least a portion of said wire and said bushing for simultaneously rotating said wire and bushing and thereby causing said wire to move longitudinally along said bushing, said rotary means comprising a roller made of resiliently compressible material and having longitudinally spaced parts, one of said parts projecting radially from said roller a sufficient amount to engage at least one of said convolutions of the wire, and the other of said parts projecting radially a greater amount from said roller to engage said bushing, whereby both said wire and said bushing are simultaneously rotated by said roller parts.

20. Apparatus for feeding helically coiled wire comprising, a stationary shaft, a freely rotatable bushing journaled on said shaft for supporting said coil of wire for longitudinal movement on said bushing during rotation of the latter, said bushing being made of anti-friction material to provide a substantially frictionless outer surface on which said wire is mounted for said longitudinal movement, helically shaped stationary means for sliding engagement with said wire between adjacent convolutions thereof so that as said Wire rotates, it is caused to move longitudinally along said bushing, and rotary means for engaging at least a portion of said wire and said bushing for simultaneously rotating said wire and bushing and thereby causing said Wire to move longitudinally along said bushing, said rotary means comprising a roller made of resiliently compressible material and having longitudinally spaced parts, one of said parts projecting radially ribs proje tingradially from said roller a sufiicient amount to engage said bushing, whereby both said wire and said bushing are simultaneously rotated by said roller parts.

References Cited the file of patent 7 UNITED STATES PATENTS,

Catini'; July 18 1939 Camras Jan. '6, 1953 Bereri'ch Jan. 10, 1956 Tauber Oct. 1, 195 7 FOREIGN PATENTS 7 Switzerland Jan. 16, 1950 

1. IN COMBINATION, A FIXED SHAFT, A BUSHING ROTATABLY MOUNTED ON THE FIXED SHAFT AND ADAPTED TO RECEIVE A HELICAL WIRE THEREOVER, MEANS FIXED ON THE SHAFT PROJECTING RADIALLY INTO THE PATH OF THE HELICAL WIRE TO CAUSE THE HELICAL WIRE TO BE FED HELICALLY AS THE WIRE IS ROTATED, AND A ROLLER CONTACTING THE WIRE TO PRESS THE WIRE AGAINST THE BUSHING SO AS TO ROTATE THE WIRE UPON ROTATING THE ROLLER.
 2. THE COMBINATION OF CLAIM 1, IN COMBINATION WITH MEANS ON THE ROLLER ADAPTED TO EXTEND BETWEEN CONVOLUTIONS OF THE WIRE AND ENGAGE THE BUSHING, WHEREBY THE ROLLER WILL ALSO ROTATE THE BUSHING. 